Chapter 8: What Sarah Did
The house went completely dark.
Sarah gasped.
Vanessa grabbed Ethan's arm.
Marcus moved toward the staircase.
“Stay here.””
A crash came from upstairs.
Then another.
Ethan pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight.
“Someone's in the house.””
Daniel reached for him.
“Don't go up there.””
Ethan pulled away.
“This is my house.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“It's a trap.””
Marcus was already halfway up the stairs.
“Marcus!””
He stopped.
“What?””
Ethan raised his flashlight.
“Who could be upstairs?””
Marcus looked at Sarah.
She whispered,
“Only one person.””
“Who?””
“My father.””
The room went silent.
Daniel's face changed.
“He's dead.””
Sarah shook her head.
“He died six years ago.””
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Daniel whispered,
“Then we're not dealing with your father.””
They moved together.
Marcus led.
Ethan followed.
Sarah and Vanessa stayed behind them.
At the top of the stairs, Ethan's bedroom door was open.
His desk drawer hung out.
Papers were scattered across the floor.
Marcus stepped inside.
“The letters.””
Ethan looked.
The envelopes were gone.
Every letter from Marcus had disappeared.
Daniel picked up a torn piece of paper.
“Someone was looking for something.””
Ethan crouched.
Under the bed was an old wooden box.
He pulled it out.
The lid was scratched.
Sarah stared at it.
“Don't open that.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because that's where it started.””
He opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Hospital records.
Bank statements.
And a small cassette tape.
Ethan picked up the first photograph.
Sarah stood outside a hospital.
Marcus stood beside her.
Daniel was visible through a window.
On the back:
*JUNE 14 — DANIEL ARRIVES.*
Another photograph.
Marcus holding newborn Ethan.
Another.
Daniel standing in a hospital corridor.
Then a final photograph.
A Black man Ethan had never seen before.
His grandfather.
Standing beside a car.
A handwritten note was attached.
*He knows.*
Ethan looked at Sarah.
“You said your father didn't know.””
Sarah lowered her eyes.
“I lied.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Tell him everything.””
Sarah shook her head.
“I can't.””
“You can.””
“I can't.””
“You owe him.””
She looked at Ethan.
“I was nineteen.””
Ethan froze.
“Nineteen?””
Sarah nodded.
“I wasn't married to Daniel yet.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
Sarah continued.
“I met Marcus first.””
Ethan stared at the photographs.
“You were with him.””
“Yes.””
“And then Daniel?””
“I met Daniel afterward.””
“Why did you marry him?””
Sarah's voice cracked.
“Because I was pregnant.””
Ethan looked at Marcus.
“With me.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did Daniel put his name on my birth certificate?””
Sarah looked down.
“Because my father threatened Marcus.””
Daniel spoke quietly.
“He threatened all of us.””
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What did he threaten?””
Sarah swallowed.
“He said if Marcus claimed you, he'd make sure you disappeared.””
Marcus nodded.
“He had connections. Money. People who would do what he asked.””
“So you married Daniel.””
“Yes.””
“And you told everyone Daniel was my father.””
“Yes.””
“Even me.””
“Yes.””
Ethan stepped backward.
The truth was becoming uglier with every answer.
“But why did Marcus disappear?””
Sarah looked at him.
“Because my father found out Marcus was going to take you and leave.””
Daniel finished the sentence.
“He arranged an accident.””
Ethan stared.
“What happened?””
Marcus answered.
“I was driving to the airport with you.””
Ethan's eyes widened.
“You had me?””
“You were three weeks old.””
“And?””
“A truck hit my car.””
Sarah covered her face.
“I thought you both died.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I survived.””
“Why didn't you come back?””
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Because Daniel found me first.””
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“Marcus was badly injured. I convinced him to disappear.””
“Why?””
“Because Sarah's father was looking for him.””
Ethan shook his head.
“This is insane.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“There's more.””
Ethan looked at her.
She held up her phone.
“The DNA report was ordered because I found an old medical file.””
“What file?””
She hesitated.
“Your grandfather's.””
Ethan's expression changed.
“What was in it?””
“Genetic records.””
Marcus looked sharply at her.
“Vanessa.””
“I couldn't ignore it.””
Ethan took the phone.
A scanned document filled the screen.
At the bottom was a familiar name.
*PATERNAL GRANDFATHER: ROBERT HAYES*
Ethan frowned.
“That isn't my grandfather's name.””
Sarah's face went pale.
“It was.””
Ethan looked at her.
“You told me his name was James.””
“He changed it.””
“Why?””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because Robert Hayes wasn't his real name either.””
Ethan looked at him.
“Then who was he?””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“The man who helped him disappear.””
A sound came from downstairs.
The front door slammed.
Everyone froze.
Then a voice called from below.
“Sarah?””
Sarah's face went white.
It was an older woman's voice.
Daniel whispered,
“No.””
Ethan looked toward the staircase.
“Who is that?””
Sarah couldn't speak.
The woman called again.
“Sarah, I know you're upstairs.””
Marcus moved toward the hall.
Daniel stopped him.
“Don't.””
“Who is she?””
Daniel's eyes were fixed on the stairs.
“The woman who raised your mother.””
Ethan frowned.
“My grandmother?””
Daniel nodded.
“Except she died ten years ago.””
The woman downstairs laughed.
Then she called out one more sentence.
“Ethan, darling, your mother never told you what happened to your real father.””
Sarah collapsed against the wall.
May you like
Ethan stared into the darkness.
And then the woman began walking up the stairs.
